1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a vehicle-lamp assembly apparatus installed on vehicle-lamp assembly lines and more particularly to a vehicle-lamp assembly apparatus so arranged as to be able to apply a predetermined process to a lamp component member supported by a lower jig and to any other lamp component member supported by an upper jig when necessary by using electric/fluid equipment provided to the upper jig.
2. Description of the Related Art
On a headlamp assembly line, a plurality of assembly apparatuses are usually employed so that predetermined processes may be performed. Members constituting an aiming mechanism are arranged by a first apparatus in a lamp body, included as a part of a workpiece. The workpiece is then transferred to a second apparatus to make the aiming mechanism support a reflector. Further, the workpiece is transferred to a third apparatus wherein a seal member is fitted in a seal groove and a front lens is pressure-welded to the lamp body by engaging a seal leg with the seal groove. The workpiece is then transferred to a fourth apparatus wherein the front lens and the seal leg are fastened mechanically with a clip or a fastening screw. The workpiece is finally transferred to a fifth apparatus wherein an aiming adjustment is made with respect to light distribution of the lamp by lighting the lamp.
In order to facilitate the assembly work applied to the lamp body and the front lens as lamp component members in each of the assembly apparatuses on such a headlamp assembly line as mentioned above, the component members are respectively supported by corresponding jigs before being set in each assembly apparatus. Then the component parts are assembled and subjected to inspection.
Although demand for increasing the assembling functions in each of the assembly apparatuses employed on the lamp assembly is still great, increasing the number of pieces of equipment to be installed in the assembly apparatus is not preferable because such an assembly apparatus would become greater in both size and complexity.
Therefore, the present inventors reasoned that provision of electric/fluid equipment for a jig would result in a decrease in the number of assembly apparatuses to be employed on an assembly line and shorten the length of the assembly line, without increasing the size of such an assembly apparatus, by allowing the equipment to replace the functions performed by any other apparatus.
However, the jig is originally designed to be compact and lightweight so that it may be set within the assembly apparatus while supporting the lamp component member as a workpiece. It is consequently difficult to provide the jig with any element (hereinafter called the operating element) supply source for operating current/compressed-air equipment in addition to the electric/fluid equipment.
Further, the present inventors reasoned that current/compressed air, used as the operating element, could be supplied to the electric/fluid equipment to operate the equipment by connecting electric wires and air pipes on the assembly apparatus side to those extending to the electric/fluid equipment provided for the jig via connectors.
However, a connector-to-connector connection is needed each time the lamp component member as the workpiece together with the jig is set in the assembly apparatus and this work is not only troublesome but also poses a serious problem arising from the possibility of connecting the connectors improperly where a large number of connectors exist.
An object of the present invention, made in view of the foregoing problems found in the prior art, is to provide a vehicle-lamp assembly apparatus that improves assembly functions without providing a jig for supporting any lamp component member with electric/fluid equipment, without increasing the size of the assembly apparatus and complicating the construction thereof and without imposing any additional task on the worker.
In order to accomplish the object above, a vehicle-lamp assembly apparatus comprises: a lower jig for supporting a lamp component member; a jig support table on which the lower jig is positioned and mounted, an upper jig vertically engaged with the lower jig, with the upper jig supporting another lamp component member when necessary and including electric and/or fluid equipment which functions to permit a predetermined process to be performed on the lamp component member. The assembly apparatus also includes an upper jig support plate for supporting the upper jig incorporated via a coupling mechanism in a suspended condition; and an elevator mechanism for moving up and down the jig support plate with respect to the jig support table. The upper jig support plate includes a first passage for supplying electricity and/or fluid to the electric and/or fluid equipment, and the upper jig includes a second passage extending to the first equipment. The first and second equipment-operating element supply passages are connected via a connector including a first connector portion on the first supply passage side and a second connector portion on the second supply passage side, the first and second connector portions being detachable from each other, wherein the electricity and/or fluid are supplied to the electric and/or fluid equipment via the first and second passages, and the first connector portion being movable relative to the upper jig support plate.
As the connector mentioned above, a connector for connecting electric wires or a coupler for connecting fluid pipes may be employed.
In such a condition that the upper jig support plate and the upper jig can be coupled together by lowering the upper jig support plate with respect to the jig (of the upper jig) mounted on the jig support table, the first connector portion on the upper jig support plate side vertically engages with the second connector portion on the upper jig side and is made also disengeable from the second connector when the first connector is moved up and down relative to the upper jig support plate.
More specifically, the first connector portion thus. lowered with respect to the upper jig support plate is inserted into the second connector portion and this makes the first equipment-operating element supply passage connected to the second equipment-operating element supply passage and supplies the equipment-operating element to the equipment of the lower jig. Thus, the equipment is made operational.
When the first connector portion is moved up with respect to the upper jig support plate from the condition in which the first and second connector portions have been joined, the first connector portion is removed from the second connector portion, so that the first equipment-operating element supply passage is separated from the second equipment-operating element supply passage.
Additionally, the vehicle-lamp assembly apparatus is provided with a positioning mechanism between the first connector portion on the upper jig support plate side and the second connector portion on the upper jig side.
The positioning mechanism regulates the positions of the first and second connector portions so that the first connector portion can be vertically inserted into or removed from the second connector portion.
The vehicle-lamp assembly apparatus can have a positioning mechanism wherein the positioning mechanism includes a slide plate incorporated with the upper jig support plate and capable of horizontally sliding by a predetermined quantity, a positioning pin in the form of a pointed end that is directed downward from the slide plate, and an engagement hole for engaging with the positioning pin.
When at least the front end portion of the positioning pin engages with the engagement hole, the slide plate horizontally slides as the upper jig support plate lowers and causes the positioning pin to be inserted into the engagement hole, whereby the first connector portion on the upper jig support plate side can vertically be inserted into and removed from the second connector portion on the upper jig side.